Scores by Escondido's English learners a concern

ESCONDIDO -- The key to bringing up standardized test scores in
Escondido schools rests largely with the city's Latino students,
especially those still learning English, school officials say.

Many of these students are still scoring below grade level in
math and English on standardized tests, according to a report
released this week.

On Tuesday, the California Department of Education released its
Standardized Testing and Reporting program, or STAR, containing
state, county, district and school results.

The report tells what percentage of students were at grade
level, indicated by a score in the proficient or advanced
categories, in math and English on standardized tests.

Students in second through 11th grades take the tests every
spring, and the results directly affect later state and federal
school accountability reports, to be released this month.

Opinions of district officials about the results reflected those
expressed Tuesday by state Education Department officials, who
lauded statewide student improvements, but also said they were
concerned about the ever-present achievement gap between minority
students and their peers.

"It still shows that there is a significant gap between the
English learners and the other students in the district, but it
also shows that there is growth across the board," said Brenda
Jones, assistant superintendent of educational services for the
Escondido Union School District, the city's large elementary
district. "To me, what I want to see is growth. The critical piece
is growth."

Escondido's students improved over last year in most elementary
and middle school grades, with most proficiency percents in the 30s
or 40s on the California Standards Test, the primary test that
determines the state report's results.

One high point was the eighth-grade algebra I proficiency that
jumped from 33 percent in 2005 to 55 percent in 2006.

But groups such as Latinos and English learners lagged.

And in a district where more than 60 percent of the 18,400
students are Latino and almost half don't speak English as their
first language, according to Department of Education statistics,
the success of these students on standardized tests is critical to
the district's success, officials said.

The percent of Latino students who scored proficient or advanced
in English was mostly in the 20s. Math scores were mostly higher,
with scores in the 30s and even 42 percent in second grade,
although sixth and seventh grades were 17 percent and 25 percent,
respectively.

Among the district's English learners, most of whom are Latino
as well, scores were much lower in most cases, with the lowest
proficiency scores in middle school math and English.

Only 5 percent of sixth-grade English learners, and 6 percent of
the seventh- and eighth-graders, scored proficient or advanced in
English, the report said.

The city's 8,100-student high school district faces similar
challenges, although this time around, it didn't have the marked
overall improvements that the elementary district did.

More than half of the high school district's students are
Latino, though only about 18 percent are English learners,
Department of Education statistics asserted.

Since 2002, Escondido's English scores have been mostly flat,
with only ninth-graders showing a significant gain of 9 percent to
reach a score of 43 percent proficiency in the 2005-06 academic
year.

"Overall, it's the same or close to the same," Sharon von Maier,
director of curriculum and assessment for the high school district,
said when comparing the 2005 scores with the 2006 scores. "There's
just shifts at certain grade levels. A little bump up or a little
bump down."

Algebra I scores have improved over the last three years, from
14 percent proficiency among ninth-graders in 2004 to 26 percent
proficiency in 2006.

The 2006 report also said that Latino high school students had a
proficiency percent mostly in the teens and 20s for English and
math, but English learners struggled much more, with only 6 percent
of ninth-graders, 2 percent of 10th-graders and 1 percent of
11th-graders in proficient or advanced categories.

All of these proficiency scores, not only of the overall student
population, but also of groups such as Latinos, blacks and English
learners, affect whether schools excel on upcoming state school
accountability reports that expect schools to show improvement.

The proficiency scores also determine whether elementary and
middle schools meet federal requirements under the No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001.

Schools that receive federal money for low-income students could
face sanctions if they fail to meet the requirements.

"The most critical subgroup element that ultimately determines
that for our district is how the English learners are doing,"
Superintendent Jennifer Walters of the elementary district
said.

Von Maier said that she expects the high school district to
improve enough to meet its state requirements.

Meanwhile, the one-school San Pasqual Union School District just
east of Escondido was more successful, according to the report,
with proficiency percents in the 60s or 70s in most grades in math
and English. The 575-student district is about 29 percent Latino
with approximately 100 of them learning English.

Latino proficiency scores ranged from 36 percent to 58 percent
by grade in English, and 37 percent to 78 percent in math, the
report says. Scores by English learner ranged from 17 percent to 45
percent in English, and from 41 percent to 61 percent in math.